New Ex illis Tactica article posted

The baneret (spelled with a single “n” as was custom in 1309) is a military rank between the simple knight and the baron. The name refers to the privileges this knight earned allowing him to carry his own banner to the battlefield and lead a small troop.

The title ‘‘baneret’’ is given to a knight who distinguishes himself on the battlefield. It takes truly impressive feats of arms to be noticed in a melee and the knight who wishes to become baneret better hope his liege is looking his way when he throws himself at the enemy. As such, the knights who become banerets tend to be daring and brutish men with a stubborn courage bordering on the stupid.

The Baneret box contains two distinct Heroes: a knight Baneret and a dismounted Baneret. Both are efficient at dealing with enemy Characters and leading men into battles, but they also have their own particularities and roles on the battlefield.

The knight Baneret adds a serious punch to the already devastating Franc Chevalers’ charge. This Hero may appear overpriced, but the added power and Intimidation may well make an enemy unit rout where it would normally have fought. This works well even against units supported by a Hero since the knight Baneret has reasonable chances to kill him/her on the charge. Note, however, that the Hero Killer power does not apply on the charge since lances are considered as secondary melee weapon. This should not be an issue considering that a direct hit from a cavalry charge is often enough to kill a man outright.

The dismounted Baneret is an inexpensive addition to almost any unit. He can be used to add an extra defence to a ranged unit behind the melee line or to create a special force sent to hunt down enemy Characters when paired up with heavy-hitters like the Billmen. An English dismounted Baneret is also a good match for your Longbowmen: the Leadership bonus will make the unit confident, which in turn grants a 20% Accuracy bonus to every shot the Longbowmen will take.